Villas-Boas’ comments follow a similar suggestion from Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho after Villa’s Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge last month.

Football statisticians classify ‘long balls’ as launches upfield, not to a specific player.

According to the Opta figures, Villa are the third worst offenders in the Premier League this season, having hit 153 long balls, with only West Ham (169) and Crystal Palace (166) producing more.

Of Villa’s total passes, 15.36 per cent are long, again ranking them third, this time behind West Ham (15.93 per cent) and Cardiff (15.61 per cent).

Lambert’s team have also made the most headed flick-ons – 64 – in the top flight, ahead of West Ham (61) and Newcastle (58).

But Lambert has hit back at the criticism, insisting it is “detrimental” to brand his team ‘hit and hope’ when they pride themselves on playing passing football.

“I don’t get that really,” said Lambert, whose team host title-chasing Manchester City tomorrow afternoon.

“If you go and look at your stats at how many long balls Chelsea played against us, I’m pretty sure we weren’t ahead of them. And Spurs.

“We don’t have the players to play long balls. We might play a long pass. We don’t just hit it up front and hope for the best. I think that’s detrimental actually, to say things like that. I don’t agree with that.

“Even if Christian Benteke plays we don’t play long. You’re not telling me we’re a big side other than Christian or Nathan Baker?

“I don’t think it’s right to say that. We don’t play that way at all. I think they’re wrong in saying that.”

At the start of last season, the claret and blue faithful hailed Lambert’s preference for possession football with chants of “We’re Aston Villa, we’re passing the ball.”

And he confirmed his players are encouraged to try to play attractively by taking as few touches as possible at a high tempo and working hard to regain possession.

“We go and try and pass it,” said Lambert. “We try and play football the right way, even in training.

“We try to take as less contacts on the ball as we can, we also try and work hard to get it back.

“We certainly don’t kick the ball long, that’s for sure. You can ask anybody here, we don’t play long-ball football, we just don’t have players to do that.